in the background

phrase

: in a position that avoids attracting attention

He was a shy man who always tried to keep/stay in the background.

Examples of in the background in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An infusion pump hangs from a pole beside him; sunlight pours through tall windows in the background. — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

Letterman first had the idea to be a background actor after seeing his friend, comedian Gary Mule Deer, appear in the background of Annie Hall in the Seventies. — Jaeden Pinder, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2026

Anthropic's logo is displayed on a smartphone, with a page from the company's website about its IPO filing in the background, in Creteil, France, on October 27, 2026. — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2026

Not only does an in-the-flesh Kassir appear with Booker dancing in the background with the Crypt Keeper, but Kassir told us the shoot had a very special guest. — Chaz Kangas, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for in the background

• abound
• aground
• around
• astound
• campground
• clothbound
• confound
• earthbound
• eastbound
• expound
• fairground
• foreground